Smartphone based Learning Media: Elementary School Teachers’ Perspective on Technology Intervention in Teaching

Abstract

Technology assists students to gain and accelerate their skills to solve problems and manifest their experiences to relate it into the learning in the society. The use of media by applying smartphone is in line with the context of today’s phenomena where technology has become the essential and integrated part in most human life, especially education. It offers information back up in unlimited supply. Technology in smartphone as learning media gains students to be active within the instructional process by affected activities such as in-class leisure activities, physical activities and social interactions. It supports students’ to learn in more reflective and progressive way. This study aims to understand elementary school teachers’ perspective in seeing technology by smartphone used as the learning media in the instructional process occurred in the classroom. There are 20 teachers across area of Tulung district, Klaten regency, Indonesia by varied socio economic levels. The data in this study is gathered by semi-structured interview and followed by descriptive analysis. The results show that applying smartphone in the classroom activities were found to be beneficial for the students. Teachers believe that science and social lesson, physical activities, and in- class fun activities. Those activities were represented such as in digital games, e- learning activities, moral and values education. The teachers were also faced with some obstacles of smartphone implementation during the lesson consisting of; time management, teachers’ technological skill and background, and controlling students’ behavior.